The Nominet Trust - making a difference

I had the pleasure of attending a Nominet Trust event at Somerset House on Monday evening.

You may have heard of Nominet - the UK's domain name registrar - but the Nominet Trust, initially funded by Nominet, has a very different role.

It is a charitable foundation that has set itself the task of taking the internet to the elements of society currently missing out on it - the elderly, the socially and economically disadvantaged, and so on.

It has been around since January 2008 and has awarded grants to organisations such as the Internet Society (ISOC), the British Computer Association of the Blind and YouthNet.

Former newsreader Martyn Lewis, chairman and founder of YouthNet, and Digital Inclusion Champion Martha Lane Fox both spoke at the event.

It seems that no one is in doubt about the size of the task that is facing the Nominet Trust, and indeed any charity or advisory body.

Recent reports have estimated that there are 6.6 million adults in the UK who aren't online and have no desire to be. Some might ask why we should bother trying to persuade them otherwise, but this is not the point.

Many people may say they don't want the internet because they are apprehensive about computers. Perhaps they can't read, or just plain don't recognise the benefits that the web could bring to their life.

So how about getting shopping delivered rather than having to trudge to the supermarket and carry heavy bags back to the top of an inner-city flat block? Or keeping in touch with family and friends who live too far away to visit on a regular basis?

There is also the added convenience of being able to pay bills and look after your finances online, which could save you money - think about how many service providers penalise people who don't pay by Direct Debit, for example.

But though these are fine arguments, there is still a mountain to climb. To illustrate the point of how hard it will be to persuade some individuals to get online, I saw a press release today from the HM Treasury that said that there were still some 900,000 households in the UK without access to a bank account.

Of course, banking is something that can be done easily on the web, so perhaps these two problems can be tackled together. However, if you want to do your bit, there is a way you can help.

Think about anyone you know - friend, relative, neighbour - who is not online. Talk to them about their reasons for not doing so, and figure out what you can do to help. If it boils down to a lack of confidence or mistrust of computers, then spare the time to show them how to use the web.